Community leaders across Northern Kentucky spoke in hushed tones on Monday, as if someone had died.

For the departure of any other company, that might be overly dramatic. But Toyota isn't just any company to Northern Kentucky.

When Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., leaves its Erlanger headquarters in two or three years, the community will lose much more than 1,600 jobs.

For more than two decades, Toyota has been not only a major employer here but, as one community leader put it, "the gold standard for corporate citizens."

That's about more than just slapping your name on an event or giving money to a cause. It's about a corporate culture that deeply values serving the community where you work.

From reading books to inner-city schoolchildren, to chairing the board of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Toyota's employees are deeply ingrained into the fabric of Northern Kentucky. And when they leave, a piece of the community will go with them.

"Losing them is going to be tough to replace," said interim Chamber president Brent Cooper. "But we're going to do everything we can to continue on."

It's telling that Mike Goss, vice president of external affairs for Toyota, made two conference calls Monday afternoon: one with local political and business leaders, and a second with the leaders of nonprofit, education and community groups supported by Toyota.

"We were blown away by their reaction," Goss said. "Of course everyone's disappointed. But so many people said on the calls or in subsequent voicemails and emails to us that our partnership with them in the community has made them stronger, and while we'll be missed, they feel that they're stronger organizations. And that was actually an emotional moment for us, when we heard that."

Toyota supports groups like New Perceptions, the 62-year-old Edgewood nonprofit for special needs children, and the Northern Kentucky Education Council.

The program is organized by Carri Chandler, Toyota's assistant manager of external affairs, and one of the awards is named for Helen Carroll, community relations manager at Toyota and former Chamber board chair.

"They set a high standard for other companies to emulate. And we hope that the other companies that are here in Northern Kentucky will continue to achieve high levels of community involvement and volunteerism. Toyota certainly helped show the way," said Dan Tobergte, president and CEO of the economic development agency Tri-ED.

Toyota has committed $10 million to continue philanthropic activities in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati and in Torrance, Calif. for five years after the company leaves both communities, likely in late 2016 or early 2017.

"We haven't even begun to figure out how to do that yet," Goss said. "We'll be thoughtful about it, and we have some time. We realize it's small consolation for the bigger news, but we certainly want to sustain some of the things we've gotten started in this community, and we think that's one small way to do it." ⬛